CNET News Video: Don't sweat it: How to pick the right fitness tracker

CNET News Video: Don't sweat it: How to pick the right fitness tracker

2:29 /
December 3, 2013

Hot for the holidays this year: activity trackers. They're wearable fitness devices you can pop on your wrist or drop in your pocket. But they do more than just count steps and calories. In this holiday gift guide, CNET's Sumi Das and Scott Stein explain how the various devices differ and pick the best fitness band for the money.

-The newest craft of fitness trackers has something for everyone looking to live healthier.
Old trackers cover the basics, counting steps and calories burned.
But when synced with corresponding apps, they can offer detailed data about your activities.
-We definitely wanna make sure it works with your phone.
You want to be a good watch.
How well does it feel on your wrists and also does it track anything more than steps.
-The new $150 Nike Fuelband SE
displays time, calories, steps and Nike Fuel, which are activity rewards points.
-Nike Fuelband is also pretty good in terms of boiling down your activity to a simple number to track over the day.
-It can differentiate whether you're running or practicing Yoga and lets users isolate workout sessions.
-So you can start and stop and say during this class I earn exactly this much fuel.
-The Fitbit Force tracks steps, calories and distance but also includes an altimeter to calculate stairs.
-I think the best band for the money is the Fitbit Force.
It's $129, which is the decent price.
The Fitbit Force is the best cover-your-basis fitness tracker in terms of wristband comfort, the watch, the social connectivity and the ease of use.
-Fitbit says, you'll eventually be able to receive call notifications on the band.
If you want an activity monitor that blends into your daily wardrobe, there's the $120 Shine from MisFit wearables.
-The MisFit Shine, you don't need to charge the batteries.
You just pop it a watch battery and it's also a waterproof so you can actually
wear it while swimming and it looks like a piece of jewelry.
-But the data geek who can't do without the display on their risk, there's the recently released Jawbone Up 24, which cost $149.
-The Jawbone Up 24 is excellent in sleep tracking and does a great round-the-clock sense of activity and social support but it doesn't have a display.
-It syncs constantly with the app through Bluetooth so it can alert you by vibrating the band.
-We can use that as a way to give you feedback throughout the day through notifications
that give you little nudges throughout the day to celebration when you hit your goal.
-Those looking to get heart-healthy can check out the $100 Withings Pulse.
-Withings Pulse can clip anywhere, also as a heart rate monitor and works with a wide variety of connected apps and devices from Withings like the blood pressure monitor and a scale.
-So there is no excuse to not get in shape in the New Year.
In San Francisco, I'm Sumi Das, CNET for CBS News.